Torchpin
by H'te Rarpee
Summary: Ozpin makes a mistake, and Roman comforts him. This is a request I got, more info in the authors note. Sorry for massages delay, Exvnir is still editing chapter seven but that will hopefully be up soon.


**Authors Note: I was on VnixxiR's chatroom on DeviantArt yesterday and I asked someone to give me a ship to write about. The results were this. Sorry if the quality is not very good; Ozpin and Torchwick are both characters out of my comfort zone.**

* * *

_"Ozpin, look out!"_

_The dust generator exploded, sending cascading waves of fire and lightning in every direction. Nicholas shot forward like a bullet, tackling Ozpin and shielding him with his body._

_ "Nicholas, no!"_

* * *

Ozpin shook himself free from the memories, wiping away the tears that had sprang up before anyone on his team could see them. Fortunately, all of them were asleep.

Both of them.

Despite his best efforts, tears welled in his eyes again. He had failed his team. He had failed Glynda. He had failed Nicholas.

A choked sob ripped from his throat, he had failed as a leader, as a friend, and as a companion.

He had made a mistake, and it had cost his team everything.

* * *

If anything, Glynda at least had expected them to return with a letter written from the safe client. Not tired, somber and missing a member.

She received word from the pilot of the dust jet that three were returning when four had left. She hoped, no, she prayed for the first time in years that it wasn't who she thought it was. She felt horrible for thinking it, but she would have been okay with Ozpin dying, as long as it wasn't _him_.

It was.

Nicholas Goodwitch was dead, leaving her an orphan with a dead baby brother.

She was alone in the world.

Anger overruled all other emotions, and she swept forward with rage burning on her face.

"How could you!" she screamed. "You were supposed to protect him! How could you let him die!?" and before she could stop herself she struck Ozpin across the face.

He did nothing, no harsh rebuke, no sarcastic quip, nothing, and that only served to cement the fact that this was not a nightmare. She punched him again and again, feeling his blood on her hand. Before she could hit him once more a hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. It was Roman, the man who had shamelessly flirted with her when they first met. But instead of the usual sneer on his face there was a cold and harsh look, something that did not seem remotely normal on his face.

"How do you think he feels" he said quietly, making this whole scene feel even more alien. "Ozpin was closer to Nicholas than anyone else on his team, your just making things worse."

Without a word to either of them, Ozpin swept off, determined not to let anyone see his tears.

* * *

His wandering feet brought him to the tallest spire of beacon, a place he often visited because it was one of the rare places he could be alone. This time, instead of sitting by the door he stood on the very edge of the spire in silent contemplation. He had made a critical error, and lost a valuable friend because of it. He was a failure as a leader, as a friend, as a person.

'Maybe,' he thought bleakly, 'I should just jump'

"Scary place, you sure you should be up here?" came the voice of Roman Torchwick.

"Why are you here Roman?" Ozpin asked, his voice cold and harsh.

"I came to check up on you" Roman said, as if it was obvious.

"Since when did you start caring?" Ozpin said, trying to sound angry but only managing to sound tired.

There was silence for a few moments, and Ozpin thought he had left before he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"I have always cared Ozpin" he said gently.

He applied gentle pressure to Ozpin's shoulder and slowly sat him down, pulling him away from the ledge at the same time.

"It's all right" Roman said softly

"No, it's not" Ozpin spat, wiping away the tears that appeared once more and cursing under his breath. "I messed up, I made a mistake and now I lost a teammate and Glynda lost her brother, I don't deserve to lead anyone. Besides, leaders don't cry, they stay strong for their teams no matter what happens."

"Crying isn't a bad thing Ozpin" Roman said softly, turning Ozpin's face toward his own. His hand stopped at his cheek, caressing it lightly. "It's okay to cry sometimes, the only thing you are proving is that you are human, not a bad leader."

Ozpin trembled at his touch. Under normal circumstances he would have thrown Roman away from him as hard as he could, but now he couldn't find the strength to do so. Ozpin needed comfort, something he would not get from anyone normally and as such he could not push Roman away right now.

His trembling grew worse and worse, and before he knew it he was openly sobbing. Roman pulled Ozpin close, wrapping his arms around him in a protective embrace and letting the young student sob on to his chest.

Neither Roman nor Ozpin were gay, but neither of them had someone to hold them close and comfort them in their time of need. Roman had gone through loss and been alone, he would not let Ozpin experience the same thing, no matter how awkward it got.

After some time Ozpin's tears died down, and he extracted himself from Roman's surprisingly comfortable embrace. He gave a quiet thanks to Roman, and was met only with a smirk and a punch on the shoulder.

"These kind of things hurt Ozpin, but all we can do is accept that life goes on. You _could _mopefor a while and not do anything, or you could honor his memory by doing better next time."

Ozpin smiled softly, making a mental promise to do just that, he stepped through the door and began to walk down the stairs when suddenly

-SLAM-

Ozpin woke with a start as Glynda struck her wand against his desk in the headmaster's office. He blinked the tiredness out of his eyes as she placed a pile of paperwork in front of him.

"These files aren't going to sign themselves Professor Ozpin" she said sharply. She was, however, relieved slightly. Ozpin seemed to get so little sleep lately, it was nice seeing him take a nap every once and a while. Not that she watched sleep or anything, that would be preposterous!

"You were mumbling in your sleep, did you have a bad dream?" she asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"No, not really, just remembering" he said quietly.

"Remembering what?" she asked before she could stop herself.

"Curiosity killed the cat Ms. Goodwitch" he said, lifting the first paper. She said nothing after that and exited the room silently, knowing instinctively that he wanted to be alone right now.

So much had happened since that day so many years ago. Good things and bad things. It was nice to have brief moments of respite like this, moments when he did not have to think about his work as headmaster, or the paperwork that needed signing, or worrying about his students.

But even with all those things he had to worry about, life went on.

And that was all that mattered.


End file.
